Oct. 16, 2006
LA QUINTA, Calif. – The Notre Dame men’s golf team shook off a sluggish opening round with a better afternoon session, moving into a tie for eighth place after 36 holes of The Prestige at PGA WEST, which teed off Monday on the Greg Norman Course (par 72/7,156 yards) at the famed PGA WEST facility in La Quinta, Calif. The Irish carded a two-round score of 21-over par 597 (302-295) and find themselves tied with Golfweek No. 1 USC and No. 34 California heading into Tuesday’s final round. No. 9 Stanford has the overnight lead at seven-under par 569, one stroke clear of 11th-ranked UCLA, with the middle of the pack extremely bunched — sixth through 13th places are separated by just six shots with one round to go.
Senior All-America candidate Cole Isban (South Bend, Ind./Mishawaka Marian) continues to find himself squarely in contention with some of the nation’s other top golfers — he is presently tied for 10th place at even-par 144 (71-73), seven strokes behind tournament leader Jay Choe of UC Irvine. Isban was consistent throughout, carding 22 pars and seven birdies in his 36-hole day.
Sophomore Josh Sandman (Greensboro, N.C./Southeast Guilford) also has proven to be a capable 1-2 punch for the Irish with Isban, as he is tied for 19th place at The Prestige with a two-round score of two-over par 146 (76-70). Only a double-bogey midway through his first round has kept Sandman from joining Isban in the top 10 on the individual ladder.
Senior co-captain Adam Gifford (Plymouth, Ind./Plymouth) quietly has shown solid improvement in recent weeks, and currently is tied for 38th place at six-over par 150 (76-74). Freshman Doug Fortner (Tustin, Calif./Foothill) is tied for 67th place at 14-over par 158 (79-79), while junior Greg Rodgers (Phoenix, Md./St. Paul’s School) is in 75th place at 18-over par 162 (84-78).
The Irish will return to the course on Tuesday beginning at 7:30 a.m. PT (10:30 a.m. ET in South Bend) for the final round of The Prestige at PGA WEST, with Notre Dame’s starting five scheduled to go off via a shotgun start. Live in-progress scoring for the tournament is available through the Golfstat web site, and final results will be posted on the official Notre Dame athletics web site (www.und.com) upon completion of the day’s action. Fans also can obtain updates on the Irish in The Prestige at PGA WEST through the Notre Dame Sports Hotline (574-631-3000) and the Irish ALERT text message system (click here for more details and registration information).
— ND —
The Prestige at PGA WEST
Oct. 16, 2006 — La Quinta, Calif.
PGA WEST/Greg Norman Course (par 72/7,156 yards)
TEAM RESULTS (36-hole totals): 1. Stanford 569 (288-281); 2. UCLA 570 (294-276); 3. UC Irvine 574 (288-286); 4. Minnesota 580 (288-292); 5. UC Davis 588 (296-292); 6. (tie) Colorado 595 (297-298) and Kansas 595 (301-294); 8. (tie) NOTRE DAME 597 (302-295), USC 597 (294-303) and California 597 (298-299); 11. Northern Colorado 598 (293-305); 12. San Diego 599 (300-299); 13. Illinois 601 (304-297); 14. Oregon 607 (302-305); 15. Princeton 618 (317-301).
TOP SIX INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME FINISHERS (of 78): 1. Jay Choe (UC Irvine) 137 (70-67); 2. Zack Miller (Stanford) 138 (71-67); 3. Ben Pisani (Minnesota) 140 (70-70); 4. (tie) Lucas Lee (UCLA) 141 (74-67), Matt Savage (Stanford) 141 (74-67) and Gary Woodland (Kansas) 141 (69-72); 10. (tie) Cole Isban (Notre Dame) 144 (71-73); 19. (tie) Josh Sandman (Notre Dame) 146 (76-70); 38. (tie) Adam Gifford (Notre Dame) 150 (76-74); 67. (tie) Doug Fortner (Notre Dame) 158 (79-79); 75. Greg Rodgers (Notre Dame) 162 (84-78).